Reykjavík Grapevine - 08.12.2017, Page 42

The Icelandic Yuletide is a time for
two things: reading and eating—and
you can only do so much eating. Ev-
ery year, during the “Jólabókaflóð,” or
Christmas book flood, Icelandic pub-
lishers release a high volume of new
works to fill the shelves just in time
for gift-giving season. To help you suss
out which books—old, and new—you
should buy to put under your tree, we
asked six local authors, some of whom
are taking part in the Jólabókaflóð
for the first time, for their favourite
Icelandic novels available in English.
Birna Anna Björnsdóttir
The Great Weaver from Kashmir -
Halldór Laxness
When I first read this book at age 20,
I became obsessed with it. It felt fresh
and exciting and relatable to someone
still trying to figure out life. Laxness
was only 25 when it was published, in
1927. Its style was considered Iceland’s
first foray into literary modernism,
and through its protagonist, Steinn El-
liði, the book mocks pretentiousness
in a very inimitable way. Its depiction
of religion as a stand-in for art also il-
lustrates how, for some, love and art
will always be in perpetual conflict.
Birna Anna's first novel, ‘Perlan’
(‘The Pearl’), has received much praise
for its feminist anti-hero and its unveil-
ing of the multi-layered identity of the
Icelandic “skinka” (literally “ham,” a
derogatory term for bleach-haired girls/
women who frequent tanning salons).

Yrsa Þöll Gylfadóttir
Njál's Saga
Perhaps not a fresh and daring choice,
but it’s one that bears repeating. Njál's
Saga has great characters, both male
and female, and is full of conflict,
love, pride and rivalry. Surprisingly,
it is also very funny—mostly due to
the narrator's sparse and ironic voice,
which leaves much between the lines.
If you want to get to the heart and soul
of Icelanders—their distant demean-
our, their weird, sardonic humour,
immense love and pride for their
country, and megalomaniacal deter-
mination—this is a worthy guidebook.
Yrsa Þöll is an academic and novelist
whose second book ‘Móðurlífið, blönduð
tækni’ (‘In Utero, Mixed Media’), deals
with a grown daughter struggling un-
der the weight of the legacy left by her
mother, a famous avant-garde artist who
sacrificed her family on the pyres of art.

Jónas Reynir Gunnarsson
World Light - Halldór Laxness
One of the most beautiful texts ever
written in Icelandic. The poet protag-
onist lays in bed for a long time, but
the story is always moving. In stories,
the true movement is in the charac-
ters’ inner lives, and this poet's inner
life is never still. He is always seek-
ing beauty, the same way a drown-
ing man seeks air. Not just any kind
of beauty, but the revelation of the
divine. ‘World Light’ is a dangerously
ambitious symphony that's striking
even when its major instruments go
silent—when a paragraph sobers up,
and is replaced with eerie stillness.
Jónas Reynir burst onto the literary
scene this year with three books—two po-
etry collections and a novel, titled ‘Mil-
lilendingin’ (‘Transit’), in which a young
woman suffering from heartbreak returns
to Iceland for a 24-hour layover. , His po-
etry book, ‘Stór olíuskip’ (‘Big Oil Tank-
ers’), won the Tómas Guðmundsson Prize.

Fríða Ísberg
Butterflies in November -
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Don't be discouraged by the sugary ti-
tle; a truer translation would be: ‘Rain
in November.’ What I love about this
novel is the refreshing characterisa-
tion of the female protagonist. She's
eccentric—a slight sociopath even.
She cheats on her husband with little-
to-no remorse, and runs over a goose
and decides to put it in the trunk and
pluck it and cook it at home. Loaded
with humour and sarcasm, her sto-
ry begins with a divorce before she
embarks on a road trip with only a
deaf child (no relation) as company.
Fríða Ísberg writes literary criticism for
the TLS and is a part of the Impostor Poets
poetry collective. Her highly anticipated
first solo poetry collection, ‘Slitförin’ (‘The
Stretchmarks’), battles against the con-
straints inflicted in childhood as the poet
searches for a true and separate identity.

Friðgeir Einarsson
The Pets - Bragi Ólafsson
The protagonist of ‘The Pets’ spends
most of the story hiding under his own
bed. Without engaging, he watches
his petty life turn into shambles; a
course of events that could easily have
been avoided if he would have done
or said something to begin with. But
it’s too late. It’s always too late. The
story’s realistic account of the sur-
real events brings forth codepen-
dency, fear of conflict, anxiety, and
other unfathomable personality dis-
ruptions that are curiously emblem-
atic for the modern Icelandic psyche.
Friðgeir Einarsson is a playwright,
short story writer and novelist whose
latest book, ‘Formaður húsfélagsins’
(‘Chairman of the Homeowners Asso-
ciation’), is a grimly humorous drama
about the terrors of communal living.

Halldór Armand
Valentines - Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson
I’ve been a fan of Ólafur Jóhann for
years. The stories in ‘Valentines’ are
filled with understated pain and the
suffering of flawed people striving
for the impossible goal of keeping
their lives and relationships in or-
der. It’s right up my alley. The style is
subtle and effortless, the characters
expertly crafted, and there's an un-
dercurrent throughout the collection
that really takes hold of the reader.
Halldór Armand is the author of three
novels. His latest book, ‘Aftur og aftur’
(‘Again and Again’) looks at fractured mascu-
linity, start-up culture bravado, and online
avatars in an age of constant distraction.
Books
The Book Flood
Iceland’s Christmas
‘Jólabókaflóð’ arrives once again
Words: Björn Halldórsson
Photos: Courtesy of the authors
gpv.is/lit
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42The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 21 — 2017